tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40692698023931463122018-01-22T06:57:41.066-05:00Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.comRobert Wenzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653378186315529211noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-44972120465769280872011-12-13T18:30:00.001-05:002011-12-13T18:31:42.993-05:00Assassinations, Spying and The Constitution: ACLU President Susan Herman...Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-14187372600374430432011-12-10T15:55:00.006-05:002011-12-10T18:26:52.491-05:00The STRIP Act and Republican Window DressingAccording to The Hill, "More than two dozen House Republicans introduced legislation on Thursday that would prevent the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) from calling airport screeners "officer" unless they have gone through federal law enforcement training or are otherwise eligible for federal law enforcement benefits.Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the lead sponsor of the Stop TSA's Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-25633336427893611662011-09-05T00:00:00.006-04:002011-09-05T23:28:04.393-04:00Assessing Universal SuffrageIn his series on the various basic theories of ethics, Professor Massimo Pigliucci, while writing on egalitarianism, wrote the following: "The first obvious question about egalitarianism is: equality of what? For instance, in most modern democratic societies it is uncontroversial that citizens have an equal right to vote, or an equal right to justice. I doubt anyone would reasonably disagree Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-68037409040391273152011-08-21T02:15:00.001-04:002011-08-21T02:15:52.273-04:00Felonious Munk Presents: Stop It B! OBAMA PAY YOUR &*%$#% BILLSMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-43282036253541945322011-07-23T21:16:00.006-04:002011-07-23T23:09:01.055-04:00GAO Audit Unearths $16 Trillion in Loans by the FedFrom the newsroom of Senator Bernie's Sanders' website:"The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-11084651579260286132011-07-22T23:54:00.008-04:002011-07-23T18:45:49.291-04:00Massimo Pigliucci on Libertarianism: A ResponseOddly enough, in a critique of Larry Summers, biologist and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci makes the following claim: "I simply do not buy the fundamentalist (yes, I’m using the term on purpose) libertarian idea that economics is all there is or that should count in pretty much all human transactions and social problems".Simply put, Pigliucci errs if he labours under the impression that such anMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-7586199005150480052011-07-14T04:16:00.007-04:002011-07-14T06:32:27.399-04:00Whither Military Keynesianism?From The Hill: "A top defense and aerospace industry trade organization is pressing House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to resist deep Pentagon budget cuts as officials grapple with the nation’s troubled finances.In a letter to Boehner, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President Marion Blakey argues substantial Defense budgets cuts would spawn new job losses and further damage the Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-92111519246716560352011-07-02T19:18:00.002-04:002011-07-03T00:42:28.738-04:00Nicholas Kristoff's FantasyIn a piece in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff attempts to discredit Republicans by arguing that the epitome of what they supposedly desire - "a low tax, laissez-faire Eden" equipped with a limited government - can be found, of all places, in Pakistan. Let this be a reason to question Mr. Kristoff's expertise on foreign political economy.Kristoff's "critique" is aimed at Republicans, and Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-60705716151005398212011-05-16T23:21:00.004-04:002011-06-07T18:48:24.819-04:00Tax Breaks Are Not SubsidiesWhile discussing a proposal to discontinue tax breaks for oil companies, Senator Chuck Schumer thought it was imperative to make the following comment: "Let me get this straight, Republicans plan to dismantle Medicare while refusing to end this tax subsidies [sic] for big oil companies?"I cannot reiterate this enough: tax breaks are not subsidies. A tax is "a sum of money demanded by a governmentMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-57328431950373186312011-04-30T23:20:00.002-04:002011-05-29T17:49:42.904-04:00A Note on My PostsI'm currently located at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri for the moment, so I have no internet access other than my phone service. Hence, I can post essays (via my Evo) but I cannot edit the font or recall my list of labels. I'm moving to Alaska in one month where internet access will be available again. Until then, I'll write posts with my phone.Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-91245237803591264812011-04-30T23:07:00.002-04:002011-05-29T17:49:12.687-04:00On the Criminalization of Inflation Reporting in ArgentinaAccording to the Economist, INDEC, the statistics agency of the Argentinian government, "began doctoring its consumer-price index in 2007" costing "holders of the country's inflation-linked bonds at least $2.3 billion last year." Naturally, private statisticians and economists have offered their own estimates of price inflation. According to the Economist, "They reckon that inflation is now Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-85535942034930291782011-04-23T04:45:00.004-04:002011-04-23T05:53:30.907-04:00Essays, Articles, Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos~According to the New York Times, "For the last three years, Gallup has called 1,000 randomly selected American adults each day and asked them about indicators of their quality of life. Responses are converted to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Here are the 2010 results, sorted by Congressional districts."~Ben O'Neill eviscerates the intellectual edifice upon which dictator Evo Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-56316856370850252062011-04-21T00:27:00.001-04:002011-04-21T00:28:38.877-04:00Have California Democrats Turned Their Backs on Social Justice? A Conver...Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-1714594359767429282011-04-21T00:11:00.001-04:002011-04-21T00:12:53.223-04:00The Top Five Environmental Disasters that Didn't HappenMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-68033392359133661192011-04-19T22:48:00.008-04:002011-04-23T04:25:24.708-04:00Assessing the "Pro-life" Argument from Human SimilarityA common argument among "pro-life" conservatives against abortion rights involves a deduction of the claim that a fetus deserves freedom from fatal coercion, i.e., freedom from being killed, from prior claims asserting that a fetus is a human being and that a human being deserves freedom from fatal coercion. When asked to demonstrate that a fetus is a human being, many conservatives appeal to a Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-46789504853427853732011-04-19T12:07:00.005-04:002011-04-19T19:02:32.267-04:00On the Significance of the Common GoodIt seems to me that people who profess to believe in capitalism who are quick to dismiss the importance of the common good do so at their own expense. If we define the common good as wealth per capita, then it appears to me that while the ultimate moral justification for a social system may not be the fact that it maximizes the common good, maximizing the common good is nevertheless a function ofMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-45904268864741413962011-04-18T16:11:00.001-04:002011-04-18T16:13:30.751-04:00Why Aren't The Rich Paying 50% in Taxes?Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-78998210172491588372011-04-15T22:05:00.020-04:002011-04-16T03:03:08.471-04:00About 46% of Usual Mississippi Republican Primary Voters Support a Ban on Interracial MarriageOh Mississippi. According to a poll conduct by Public Policy Polling, 46% of "400 usual Mississippi Republican primary voters" randomly chosen believe that interracial marriage should be illegal. Thus, if we apply the method of statistical generalization, -n percent of s randomly selected F are G-Therefore, about n percent of all F are G, wheren = percent s = sample sizeF = a property defining Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-48136161160286895632011-04-13T04:33:00.007-04:002011-04-13T04:57:36.726-04:00Essays, Articles, Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos~According to Carrie Lukas, there is no wage gap between men and women.~Bryan Caplan talks about 40 important truths he has learned over his 40 years of existence, endorses Jason Brennan's new book The Ethics of Voting, and tells people to have more children.~Terry Eagleton takes time out to write a defense of Karl Marx. There's always one, at least one.Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-61506706992779112672011-04-12T23:00:00.001-04:002011-04-12T23:02:18.846-04:00Sandy Springs, Georgia: The City that Outsourced EverythingMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-44966458057899232102011-04-09T14:17:00.012-04:002011-04-09T18:19:12.323-04:00Essays, Articles, Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos~George Reisman elaborates on why we should eliminate Social Security and Medicare and how.~Robert Murphy reports on the sorry state of private money, as does Lew Rockwell.~Thomas Woods takes Fed-supporter Joseph N. DiStefano to task on pre-Fed banking history.~Can the frequency and severity of insurgent attacks be forecasted via statistical analyses? Neil Johnson of the University of Miami in Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-4491609740700375802011-04-09T04:17:00.007-04:002011-04-09T04:31:03.771-04:00An Interview with Bernie MadoffThe Financial Times has just published an interview with Bernie Madoff conducted by David Gelles and Gillian Tett. Its detailed and in depth.Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-63700751322207674032011-04-07T23:41:00.001-04:002011-04-07T23:42:40.227-04:00Bernie Sanders' War on Chinese Bobbleheads!Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-48106324104316723112011-04-04T20:44:00.002-04:002011-04-09T04:32:43.679-04:00The Military Industrial Complex in Five Minutes(via Robert Wenzel)Michael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069269802393146312.post-79473229222505766482011-04-04T17:58:00.001-04:002011-04-04T17:59:37.482-04:00Walter Williams: Up From the ProjectsMichael Labeithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00349645174207955086noreply@blogger.com0